Here is a quick look at stories about the leading brands in the industry as recently reported by The Business Journals. Starbucks (SBUX) says it has a plan to reverse a disappointing same-store sales trend. Same-store sales (stores that have been open at least a year, or comp sales as the industry calls it) increased by only 2 percent during Starbucks fiscal first quarter, which ended Dec. 31.

Maria de la Croix never planned to set up her own company. The thought came to the Swedish former arts student when she was casting around for a job. She noticed how in Sweden some friends were doing well ...

Starbucks has hired Rachel Gonzalez as its executive vice president and general counsel, replacing Lucy Lee Helm, who was appointed to chief partner officer over the summer . Gonzalez will lead the Seattle-based coffee company's law and corporate affairs department and support the board of directors. "Rachel is a terrific addition to Starbucks as we continue to accelerate our leadership position as a global brand with a rich heritage in coffee, long-standing values, and the responsibility to use our scale for good,” he said.

AMF Pensionsforsakring is a Swedish entity jointly owned by a workers union and a confederation of businesses. AMF produces amusing commercials (including unicorns) that bring home the point of retirement. In fact, it made outsized purchases of larger U.S.-traded securities, including Nike (NKE), Starbucks (SBUX), Ford Motor (F), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Intel (INTC).

Sao Paulo investment firm SouthRock Capital has signed an agreement with Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) that gives it the right to develop and operate branches of the Seattle-based chain in Brazil, the companies said late on Monday. With the agreement, whose value was not disclosed, all of Starbucks' retail operations in Latin America are now wholly licensed rather than directly managed, the companies said. SouthRock founder Ken Pope said in a statement the fund would eye expansion opportunities in new and existing markets.

Sao Paulo investment firm SouthRock Capital has signed an agreement with Starbucks Corp that gives it the right to develop and operate branches of the Seattle-based chain in Brazil, the companies said late on Monday. With the agreement, whose value was not disclosed, all of Starbucks' retail operations in Latin America are now wholly licensed rather than directly managed, the companies said. SouthRock founder Ken Pope said in a statement the fund would eye expansion opportunities in new and existing markets.

If you like the whiskey barrel-aged cold brew from Starbucks, the Seattle coffee giant is betting you'll also like its new gin barrel-aged cold brew. The gin barrel-aged cold brew launched Tuesday. It will only be available at the Seattle Reserve Roastery for a limited time, but if it is anywhere close to as popular as the Whiskey version , it is likely to show up at all Reserve bars, stores and Roasteries in the next six months.

The last change in the short interest score occurred more than 1 month ago and implies that there has been little change in sentiment among investors who seek to profit from falling equity prices. Index (PMI) data, output in the Consumer Services sector is rising.

Starbucks announced it's partnering with the Malala Fund to empower 250,000 women and their families in coffee-growing regions by 2025, according to Food and Wine . The Malala Fund, the organization run by activist Malala Yousafzai, will work with the Starbucks Foundation to promote education and leadership opportunities for young women in coffee and tea growing communities in India and Latin America, per Food and Wine. With Starbucks' help, the Malala Fund will expand its network of educators to get more girls in school and will also offer "non-traditional" educational opportunities, according to Food and Wine.

Britain has resisted a call by campaigners and lawmakers to impose a so-called "latte levy" on single-use coffee cups, opting instead to reduce the use of the cups through voluntary measures. Less than 1 percent of coffee cups are recycled in Britain because of the tightly bonded plastic liner, the difficulties of recycling packaging which has been in contact with food and drink and a lack of facilities. A committee of lawmakers had recommended a 25 pence ($0.34) levy on the use of disposable coffee cups to try to cut on their usage.